Rise Of The Nephilim
Chapter 25

“Why is it that you are still alive and not Shian?” Haman asked as he struggled to angle himself on one elbow, his face wrinkled with anger.

Zeda turned her head away, her eyes closed. She couldn’t bear to look at them.

Silla tried to shift herself up to a sitting position.

“We have sacrificed everything for you, for your weakness. And now . . . Father will never trust us again,” she said.

Maxine bit down on her lip. She wanted to protect Zeda, but the guilt she felt held her back. After all, it had all been her idea to launch the rescue mission.

“If I were you, I would watch my back, sister,” Gaden suggested, stretching out his body with one hand bearing down on his forehead.

Maxine shot Gaden a sharp look. “Give her a break!”

The room quieted, replaced by Zeda’s soft weeping.

But Silla struggled to hold her tongue. “Come now, sister! Are you more Human than Nephilim? Surely, if you are to survive, you must show more resolve. Otherwise, the next time you attempt to take your life, do it well, where no one is likely to replace you in time.”

Haman held a hand to his chest and raised his body to a sitting position.

“Yes, sister, if you love us as you should, you will be sure to do it well the next time you are overcome by weakness,” he said.

Zeda kept her eyes closed, trying to drown out their voices. However, the more they spoke, the deeper the hurt sunk into her heart.

Somehow, the pain that she was feeling had transferred over to Maxine. Memories of her past began to surface.

The constant mocking she’d suffered—all the anger, the insignificance, and smallness she’d felt. Those nerve-bending, howling sounds directed at her. The laughter at her expense. None of it was clear, all of it ripped from its proper place and time.

“Do you have to be so cruel? Can’t you show her some fucking compassion?” Maxine yelled, tears in her eyes.

None responded. Only silence and controlled ferocity returned her words.

Maxine wondered if she’d put her own survival at risk if she’d undone the bonds she’d cultivated with her Nephilim siblings.